The team just wrapped up with their team banquet this past Sunday. It was sad to say goodbye to 14 graduating seniors. They are already accepting summer internships, jobs, and applying to graduate schools. They all have very bright futures ahead of them and they will be greatly missed.

Overall, the team could not have asked for a better season. There were 14 school records broken (5 were broken more than once), 5 individuals and 2 relays achieved NCAA B Qualifying Time Standards. The Women’s 200 Medley Relay scored in the Top 16 at the NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championship earning them the honor of being All-American Honorable Mention.

Definitely check out the team to see a glimpse of how great this season truly was. Cut and paste the following link into your web browser: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJEnWUe32Q4&feature=plcp&context=C44e0a4bVDvjVQa1PpcFOgiAj4-IIjVX526ut-4Cq9ZWpre5u6JgI%3D

Springfield, Ohio – Wittenberg University will be represented in the NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships by four swimmers competing in multiple relay and individual events.

Molly Gustafson, class of 2014 from West Hartford, Conn., will compete in the national event for the second straight year after earning All-America honors in the 100-yard breaststroke in 2011. She will be joined at the 2012 meet, scheduled for March 21-24 at IU Natatorium in Indianapolis, Ind., by Sarah Wilson, class of 2014 from Centennial, Colo., Keaton Hannon, class of 2012 from Peachtree City, Ga., and Ward McNulty, class of 2013 from New Trier, Ill.

The four Tigers earned a spot in the NCAA Division III Championships thanks to their school-record performance in the 200-yard medley relay at the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Championships last month. Wittenberg heads into the national competition ranked 12th nationally in the event, with the top 16 teams in each relay automatically earning spots. This is the largest representation from Wittenberg in over a decade.

The Tiger quartet will compete in a total of four relays at the NCAA Division III Championships, in addition to any individual events in which the swimmers have posted provisional qualifying times. Gustafson will again compete in the 100-yard breaststroke, while Hannon will compete in the 100-yard butterfly and Wilson has earned the chance to participate in the 100-yard backstroke. Both Hannon and Wilson broke the school-records in their respective events at the NCAC conference championship. McNulty is the school record-holder in the 50-yard freestyle, but her time is just short of the mark necessary to compete individually at the national meet.

“I am extremely proud of this group of women who will be representing our team at the NCAA meet,” said Wittenberg Head Coach Natalie Koukis. “These women are setting the bar for the direction we are headed as a swimming and diving program. They are making a big mark in the history of our program, and we are looking forward to representing Wittenberg well.”

Wittenberg Swimming and Diving is again offering adult fitness swimming instruction and training!

The group will target recreational fitness swimmers who would like to swim with a group, masters’ swimmers who would like additional training, and tri-athletes. A member of the Wittenberg Swimming and Diving Team coaching staff will be overseeing each session offering technical advice, drills, and fitness training.

Wittenberg Women’s Swimming and Diving Team Earns National Academic Award

Springfield, Ohio – Wittenberg University’s women’s swimming and diving team recently earned a College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Scholar All-America Team award for the fall 2012 semester after posting a sterling 3.21 cumulative team grade point average.

The award honors teams that display excellence in the classroom by maintaining at least a 3.0 cumulative team GPA on a 4.0 scale.

“I am very proud of the student-athletes in our program who continue show such tremendous pride in succeeding both in the classroom and in the pool,” said Head Coach Natalie Koukis. “Student-athletes must show an extraordinary amount of dedication, commitment and organization to succeed at the collegiate level, and once again Wittenberg’s women’s swimming and diving team has met the challenge.”

Wittenberg finished the 2011-12 season with a sparkling 9-2 dual meet record before taking fifth place in a loaded nine-team field at the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) championship meet Feb. 16-18. Between the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams, 11 school records fell during the meet and a total of seven NCAA Division III provisional qualifying standards were achieved.

Student-athletes who met those qualifying standards will find out later this week whether they will have the opportunity to compete in the NCAA Division III Championship meet, which is scheduled for March 21-24 at the Indiana University Natatorium in Indianapois, Indiana.

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NOTE: For the latest Wittenberg news and information, log on to http://www4.wittenberg.edu/news/athletics/. Or find the Tigers on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/wittenbergathletics) or Twitter (twitter.com/wittathletics).

Yesterday was filled with some hard training, fun in the sun, and of course some ice cream. To start off our last full day of practices we began with a great lifting session followed by a meet against Milwaukie University, the panthers. Needless to say the cats came out on top. The women’s team enjoyed their annual “Diva Day” at the beach, where pictures were taken and rays were absorbed. Even the loyal pool goers ventured out into the great unknown, also known as the ocean. The evening practice consisted of some more intense sets, but people’s spirits remained high. Once returning to the Buccaneer many people began packing up their rooms in anticipation for the long journey back to Ohio the following day.

It is official, Florida Training 11-12 is complete! At the conclusion of practice, the annual team picture was taken. While everyone else went to change out of their swimsuits, the seniors enjoyed taking some final pictures and showing off their diving skills. It is a bittersweet moment for the seniors, as the end of Florida training is an indicator that their 4 years of being a swimming Tiger is finally coming to an end. The training was challenging, but the moments and memories have been worth the sore muscles. Although I’m not sure if I’ll miss the soreness, I do know I will miss the attempts of playing beach volleyball and building of sand castles on the beach. While coach finished up room checks, the team enjoyed our final moments in the warm sun and bid Deerfield Beach farewell.

It has been a chilly couple of days in Deerfield Beach. And by chilly we mean low 60’s but in the morning and at night practice it is freezing! On Tuesday we had the whole day off practice, which was wonderful (thank you coaches for having souls!) Coach offered a bus trip to Ft. Lauderdale, which some of the team went on. While they were in Ft. Lauderdale, they went around to shops and went out to dinner. Being a senior, I did not go on the trip but I heard it was a nice and relaxing afternoon. The rest of the team who did not go to Ft. Lauderdale stayed around the hotel and beach, playing volleyball in the chilly weather or just laid by the pool reading. It was nice to have a much-needed day off and we were nice and refreshed for the rest of the week!

Wednesday morning we had a lovely 6:00 a.m. departure from the Buccaneer and headed to Pine Crest’s weight room to get meaty. Our lifting has definitely been taken up a notch from past Florida trips and I think it is really going to benefit us for the rest of the season. After lifting, we braved the cold and hopped in the long course meter pool to defrost. The two-hour practice seemed to drag on forever, especially because Coach Joni gave us an hour swim for our main set. We swam for a straight hour and could not stop. If someone stopped, we had to start over which would have been pretty awful. Luckily, no one stopped and the hour wasn’t TOO painful. We sang a lot of songs, such as “row, row, row, your boat, gently down the pool,” and other various tunes to pass the time by. All in all, it was a long swim but really allowed us to build our endurance and work on our technique and breathing patterns. An hour by yourself really makes you think and appreciate the time with the team way more! The rest of the day was spent at the pool and beach, and naptime for most. It is getting to that point in the week where everyone is exhausted and needs a little more rest to make it through. Wednesday nights practice was rough as well but much expected since we had Tuesday off. Coach Natalie and Joni were very pleased with our performance as a team on Wednesday, which was great! Happy coaches=happy swimmers!

It is Thursday! Almost done with my last training trip EVER! I can now count the practices on ONE hand instead of both hands and feet, this is exciting! We were up bright and early with the birds to do dry land at the Pine Crest track before practice. After running and doing our ab routine it was time to hop in the good ol’ longcourse pool. We were split into IM and then the rest of the team. It was a challenging and aerobic practice, but went by quickly (thank god!) The rest of the day was spent doing the usual beach and pool etc. Night practice seemed to be a little bit of recovery and it was really fun! We split into groups and did some fun relays in the diving well. Everyone seemed very happy throughout practice which is always a good thing. After practice, the coaches took the seniors out to Kilwin’s for ice cream. We got our ice cream and then went to Coach’s room to reminisce about the past four years. It was hilarious to tell stories about each other and different memories we have had together. Looking around the room it was hard to believe we are seniors and I have made my best friends over these four years. It was a great night and definitely put a smile on my face before bedtime! We have one more day in Deerfield Beach, I cannot believe the trip is almost over. It has been a very long ride, but at least our tans look great and we are all in tip top shape for the new semester!

What another beautiful day in Deerfield Beach!
Where Coach Koukis had quite a bit to teach
In the morning the distance swimmers did
their traditional set of 3 miles
After the completion of which all of
the seniors could offer nothing but smiles
In the meantime, the other lanes were
focusing on swimming without air
So that at the end of a race their
opponents will not have a prayer
After practice there was plenty of
time to be spent in the sun
Some chose to lay out by the pool while
others went to the beach for some fun
After a morning in the hot pool, the
cool ocean water felt ever-so-grand
As did getting some laughs out
of playing volleyball in the sand
But before we knew it it was
time to get back on the bus
With the knowledge of the set at hand,
I guess that was a plus
As promised, we did twenty 50’s
all-out from the blocks
While Coach and Joni kept track of
our times with their many clocks
Though the practice was difficult we gave our all
Staying positive and cheering for each
other so that morale wouldn’t fall
When everything was finished,
we were in for a great surprise!
The coaches gave us ALL of the next day off,
holey moley we couldn’t believe our eyes!
We could sleep in tomorrow, not needing to
arrive at the beach until half past nine
Where we had team building and pictures,
a whole day away from that never-ending black line!